2 CRA Lawmakers Announced Leadership Run; Former Komeito Members Won’t Run to Be New Leader

The Yomiuri Shimbun

18:00 JST, February 11, 2026

Two Centrist Reform Alliance lawmakers announced on Wednesday their intention to run in the party’s election to choose a new leader.

Lawmakers who originally belonged to Komeito will not run in the election.

At a meeting of CRA members on Wednesday, it was decided that the election will be formally announced on Thursday and voting will take place on Friday. The election will choose the successor to current coleaders Yoshihiko Noda and Tetsuo Saito.

Since the 28 CRA House of Representatives members from Komeito will not run, the new leader will likely be chosen from among 21 CRA members from the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.

On Tuesday, Noda held a meeting with about 15 lower house party members who joined the CRA from the CDPJ at the party headquarters.

According to sources who attended the meeting, Noda said he was going to resign as coleader to take responsibility for the landslide defeat in the lower house election. He also informed those present that the schedule for the leadership election would be decided at the Wednesday meeting of party lawmakers.

Some of the party lawmakers criticized the rule requiring recommendations from 10 party members to run in the party leader election. That number accounts for about 20% of all 49 CRA lawmakers, and the dissenting members argued that the conditions for candidacy are too strict and should be eased.

On Wednesday, Takeshi Shina and Junya Ogawa, lower house members of the CRA, separately expressed their intention to run for leader of the CRA. Kenta Izumi, a former leader of the CDPJ, clarified that he would not run.

CRA lower house members from Komeito confirmed their policy that each of them can vote as they like in the party leader election, based on their own judgment.

In the lower house election on Sunday, all the CRA members from Komeito were elected from proportional representation blocs, in which they were given high-priority positions.

It was therefore felt, in the words of a veteran member among them, that “we should show consideration for former CDPJ members.” As a result, CRA members from Komeito decided not to field a candidate in the party leader election.